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Greenup (174), Anerican Connercial Attache at Lima, Peru, on April 7, 
1036, reported on the culture and exportation of Peruvian cube or barbasco, 
and Crlllcy (101,106), Assistant Connercial Attache at Li;.a, Peru, on 
October 20, 1936, reported that the Peruvian Govornncnt had investigated 
cube root standards. These reports arc "based on an article published in 
"La Vida A^riccla" and on the report by Page, 
Clark (83), Assistant Trade Connissioner at Lina, Peru, on October 
7, 1937, called attention to these articles .and also a later one by Dennis. 
The Koloniaal Instituut (250) of Aosterdan in 1935 publishec 1 the 
results of sonc of its work on insecticides of the dcrris type, Throe sanples 
of barb. '.sco root fron Peru were examined with the following results; 
I n III • Good dcrris root 
Ether extract 16.7$ 21'. 00 5.3$ 15 to 200 
Rote none 6,10 11. C$ traces 5 to £?o 
The Duality of the first two sanples is regarded as $ood or very good,; 
that of the third sanple, which consisted entirely of pieces of root hark, 
as very unfavourable. On the whole, the quail t" of the barbasco root requisi- 
tioned fron Aicrica seeps to have been regarded favorably. With nany parcels, 
however, there is the objection that the differ. race in the landed weight and. 
that at the tine of shipnent fron South Anorica is about 20 to 40 percent, 
a fact which points to a very faulty drying of the product, 3fho evaporation 
in parcels of dcrris root during the voyage fron India to Europe or Aocrica 
is rarely nore than a few percent. Biological tosts nade with barbasco root 
have not led to definite conclusions, but it is considered that with equal 
rotcnono content preference nust be given to dcrris root over barbasco, a 
distinction that should be due to the great effectiveness of the secondary 
substances of dcrris which, next to rotcnono, occur in the ether extracti 
United St ate s, — Floyd L. Cooper (90), an experimental nurseryman of 
Huntington Park, Calif. , wrote Roark on Septonbor 15, 1936, that cuttings of 
Loncho carpus nicou received fron British Guiana had been grown successfully 
in southern California. The cuttings were potted November 28, 1935, and 
transferred to the ground June 7, 1936. Or Septonbor 14, 1936, the plants 
had grown to a height of 4 to 5 feet. 
The United States Dcpartncnt of Agriculture, Puerto Rico Experiment 
Station (428), in 1337 published the results nf the Durban test which was 
used in a preliminary way on nany of the introduced fish-poison plants 
propagated, at this station. The reagents for the tost were applied directly 
to freshly cut tissues of 29 introductions and 18 indigenous species of 
fish-poison plants. Of the 47 kinds of plants tested, 8 species wore posi- 
tive to the tost, including the roots of Lo ncho carpus nicou. 
On the basis of the above results and of the growth response of the 
plants to local environ ion t, only Dor r is olliptica end Tcphrosia toxicaria 
have shown promise of becoming commercially important in Puerto Rico. Host 
of the plants of Loncho corpus ni c ">u have not been established long enough 
to pernit appraisal -if their probable worth. 
